System for Cooperation Between a Human and a Robotic Device

ABSTRACT

A robot control system has a monitoring mechanism wearable on a portion of human anatomy, proximal a specific human joint, the monitoring mechanism comprising sensors monitoring relative positions of portions of the human anatomy to either side of the specific joint, circuitry associated with the mechanism, transmitting data concerning the relative positions to a computerized robot control platform, and a robot mechanism having a robotic joint simulating the specific human joint, and further comprising remotely-controllable actuators manipulating robot elements to either side of the robotic joint. The computerized robot control platform controls the remotely-controllable actuators according to the data concerning the relative positions, causing the robot mechanism to emulate the movement of the specific human joint in near real time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS

The present patent application is a divisional application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/094,158, filed on Apr. 8, 2016, entitled,“System for Cooperation Between a Human and a Robotic Device”.Disclosure of the priority application is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is in the field of machine operation by remotecontrol, and pertains more particularly to methods and apparatus foroperating a machine via human motion and feedback.

2. Discussion of the State of the Art

In the field of remote operation of machines including robots,remote-controlled machines typically receive instruction from a computeror a human-operated controller, and perform according to theinstructions that are received. A problem with this approach is thatcomputer or controller instructions have no predictive intelligence, soadverse consequences that may occur when instructions are not correct orhuman operated control signals are not accurate.

To illustrate the above, consider that a remote-controlled car willcontinue to spin its wheels against a wall if a computer or human remotecontrol operator continues to give instructions to drive forward. Humanoperation by inputting instructions on a controller or a panel havingrudimentary input options is prone to inaccurate and imprecisemovements.

Therefore, what is needed in the art is a system to operate a machinemimicking the whole human body while maintaining stability andprecision.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A robot control system is provided, comprising a monitoring mechanismwearable on a portion of human anatomy, proximal a specific human joint,the monitoring mechanism comprising sensors monitoring relativepositions of portions of the human anatomy to either side of thespecific joint, circuitry associated with the mechanism, transmittingdata concerning the relative positions to a computerized robot controlplatform, and a robot mechanism having a robotic joint simulating thespecific human joint, and further comprising remotely-controllableactuators manipulating robot elements to either side of the roboticjoint. The computerized robot control platform controls theremotely-controllable actuators according to the data concerning therelative positions, causing the robot mechanism to emulate the movementof the specific human joint in near real time.

In one embodiment there are sensors monitoring force between the jointand the elements to either side of the joint. Also in one embodimentthere is an image capturing device proximate the robot mechanism, and aviewing apparatus positioned near the monitoring mechanism, wherebyvisual information in the environment of the robot mechanism isprojected on a display of the viewing system. Also in one embodiment thedisplay is a wearable display. And in one embodiment the circuitrytransmitting data comprises wireless transmission circuitry.

In one embodiment of the control station there are sensors monitoringrelative positions of portions of the human arm, hand, and fingers, toeither side of the elbow joint, the wrist and the joints of the thumband of each of the four fingers, further comprising robot elementsemulating the human joints and the portions of the human arm, hand, andfingers, and further comprising remotely-controllable actuatorsmanipulating the robot elements according to the data concerning therelative positions, causing the robot mechanism to emulate the movementof the human arm and hand in near real time. Also in one embodimentthere are sensors monitoring force between the joints and the portionsto either side of the joints.

In one embodiment of the invention there is further an image capturingdevice proximate the robot mechanism, and a viewing apparatus positionednear the monitoring mechanism, whereby visual information in theenvironment of the robot mechanism is projected on a display of theviewing system. In one embodiment the display is a wearable display. Andin one embodiment the circuitry transmitting data comprises wirelesstransmission circuitry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a human-operated, remote-controlsphere mechanism for controlling a remote machine according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an architectural overview of a remote-control communicationsnetwork between the sphere mechanism of FIG. 1 and a remote machineaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram depicting interaction between the spheremechanism of FIG. 1 and the robot of FIG. 2 brokered through acommunications hub or router.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting steps for controlling a machine via ahuman-operated sphere mechanism according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In various embodiments described in enabling detail herein, the inventorprovides a unique human-operated communication and control system,including a control sphere, for controlling the movements and actions ofa remote machine or robot. The present invention is described using thefollowing examples, which may describe more than one relevant embodimentfalling within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a human-operated, remote-controlsphere mechanism 100 for controlling a remote machine according to anembodiment of the present invention. Sphere mechanism 100 comprises anannular vertically-oriented ring 108 with an annularhorizontally-oriented ring 106 mechanically associated in a manner thatthe rings together produce an accessible spherical profile that normallyassumes a vertical orientation along a vertical axis 104.

Rings 108 and 106 may be manufactured of a durable metal such asstainless steel or other metals having the ability to support the weightof a human. Rings 108 and 106 may be joined together via weld, clamps,rivets, or other common fastening systems, and with pivot joints orslide mechanisms that may allow relative movement. In oneimplementation, rings 108 and 106 may in a fixed position relative toone another. Rings 108 and 106 are not required to be perfectlycircular. In one embodiment they may be elliptical without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Sphere mechanism 100 supports a wearable robotic interface apparatus 102adapted to constrain and to interact with a human operator. A human isnot shown in FIG. 1. Robotic interface 102 may be adapted as a wearabledevice, in this case supported in a vertical position in line with axis104 by latitudinal ring 108. Robotic interface 102 has connection tolatitudinal ring 108 at foot seats 112, which may be adapted to receivea human foot of an operator. In this example, rings 108 and 106 aresupported above ground level by columns 111, one at either side of thesphere architecture. The sphere and rings are mounted to columns 111such that the spherical structure may rotate both about a horizontalaxis and about a vertical axis (104) according to the movements of aperson restrained to robotic interface 102. The movement of the humanoperator provides roll, pitch and yaw motions.

Interface apparatus 102 is constructed using jointed limbs includingupper limbs 122 representing arms of a human. Interface apparatus 102also includes lower limbs 124 representing human legs. Interface 102includes robotic hands 114 that may be adapted for engaging the hands ofthe human operator. This hand interface may be as simple as a handle forthe hands of a human operator to grip, or may be more elaborate to haveseparate sensing mechanisms for the operator's fingers and thumbs.Robotic interface 102 includes a hip component 103 that includes aspinal like structure that is jointed and represents the spine and backof the human operator.

In the overall construction of robotic interface 102, each limbcomponent is jointed at joint locations 120 to another limb component ina way that allows for monitoring relative motion of the limbs. In oneimplementation interface 102 includes mechanical motion actuators ateach flexible joint position indicated by element number 120, which mayrepresent every joint of the interface (not all are shown). Commonjoints include the elbow, wrist, knee, ankle, shoulder, waist, and hip.Mechanical actuators and sensors (not illustrated) may be installed atmultiple of or at all of joint locations 120. Interface 102 andmechanism 100 may include one or more sensors (not illustrated) to sensemotion data of wearable interface 102. It is important in the systemthat movement and forces generated by the human operator on interface102 are sensed, and that this data may be recorded and transmitted asdescribed further below, and also that actuators associated physicallywith joints and elements of interface 102 provide motion and forcefeedback to the human operator. For example, as the human operator movesin the interface mechanism, the operator's movements and forces appliedare sensed, and the actuators may provide resistance in a variablemanner to the movements of the human operator.

Sphere mechanism 100 includes in this example a computing processor 109installed within column 111 proximal to the top of the column in thiscase. A SW application 110 is provided to execute on processor 109.Processor 109 may include wireless communications circuitry enabling theprocessor to communicate with several components such as onboard sensorsand actuators, with a communication hub or command center, and with aremote machine to be controlled by a human working from within spheremechanism 100.

In one implementation, actuators and sensors used within interface 102are enabled for wireless interfacing to processor 109 aided by SW 110.In one implementation the sensors and actuators may be hardwired tocommunicate data to the processor without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. SW 110 may, among other tasks, list each sensorand actuator including function and current state. SW 110 may coordinatereporting to and from actuators and sensors and may enable communicationof actuator and sensor data to a remote machine. One example of anactuator mechanism for a joint might be a variable-rate spring mechanismor gear-assisted motor that provides resistance against or aid in motionof the joint and/or that provides mechanical force toward movement ofthe joint in a certain direction.

Some of or all of joint locations 120 on interface 102 may includemechanical actuators. Examples of onboard sensors may include such asmotion sensors, pressure sensors, a gyroscopic sensor (verticalorientation) and so on. In one implementation pressure sensors such asstrain gauges are built into the actuators and measure strain in thejoints and sense resistance in motion, flex, and resistance to cessationof motion in the associated joint. In one implementation a human beingconstrained in interface 102 makes motions such as walking, pointing,reaching, grasping, lifting, or other motions which are recorded by thesensor/actuators installed at joint locations 120, wherein such data isreported to processor 109 that may, aided by SW 110 convert such datainto operating instructions that may be forwarded to a remotelycontrolled machine.

A human operator may interact with sphere mechanism 100 by climbing intothe sphere structure and assimilating into robotic interface 102, forexample placing the feet into foot receptacles 112, wearing or otherwiseconfining the limbs to limbs 122 and 124, and so on through the variousparts of the interface. In one implementation, hands 114 may bemechanical gloves having appendages (fingers) that may make a graspingmotion or pinching motion, among other possible gestures.

There may be sensors/actuators in the wrist joints and in finger jointsof the hand, such as finger joints 118. A sensor placed in hand 114 maysense, for example, the pressure of the grasp or pincer movement. In oneimplementation, an operator may insert his or her hands into handmechanisms 114. In another implementation an operator may grasp anyportion of the sphere structure (rings 108, 106). In this way, thecollective data taken from the sensor/actuators and processed byprocessor 109, may be used in concert to provide machine instruction toa remote vehicle or machine such as a robot.

In one implementation certain movements or gestures made by a humanoperator constrained to interface 102 may be designated to specificfunctions or tasks, including complex (multi-step) tasks that aremote-controlled robotic machine or vehicle might perform. Conceivabletasks may include physical tasks that require movement of an appendageof the remote robot and other tasks such as charging batteries, bootingor shutting down. Other tasks may include diagnostic tests, and othertypes of tests that do not require physical movement of the machine.

The exact combination of sensors, actuators and the tools available tothe remote machine and to the human robotic interface may vary widely indifferent embodiments, which may include the sphere, the roboticinterface, the remote machine, and a command hub or router functioning,in one embodiment, as a command center. In this way remote controlledmachines may be custom manufactured having specific sets of functionsand having certain tools provided for certain tasks.

FIG. 2 is an architectural overview of a remote control communicationsnetwork 200 between the sphere mechanism of FIG. 1, a command center 201and a remote robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.Nodes in communications network 200 include sphere mechanism 100functioning as a remote controlling station in an interactive way wheresignals and data may travel bi-directionally (to the machine beingcontrolled and back to the control station for feedback).

In this example, the remote machine aforementioned in this specificationis a mechanical robot 202. In other embodiments the controlled machinemay take many and varies forms and functions. Mechanical robot 202 maybe a batter-operated machine that is manufactured in a similarproportion and likeness to robotic interface 102 within sphere mechanism100. Like interface apparatus 102, robot 202 in this example includesfeet 212, limbs 224, limbs 222, hands 214, and hip and waist section203. Also, in this implementation, articulate joint areas 220 areessentially the same joint areas in interface 102. While a kinship orsimilar design between the wearable interface and the remote controlledmachine is not specifically required to practice the present invention,it will be advantageous in situations such as in this example, whererobot 202 is emulating the movements created in mechanism 100 usinginterface 102.

Wearable mechanical interface 102 and robot 202 are implemented withactuators and sensors associated with potential movement. It is notedherein that wearable interface 102 includes actuators that providemovement of appendages and movement of the spherical mechanism. Thesensors associated with those actuators sense pressure and force causedby the person on different parts of the mechanism, and position andorientation. The sensors may also sense position of the different partsof the mechanism relative to some reference positions such as verticalaxis. The actuators may provide, through feedback from the robot 202,some mechanical pressure or resistance at different body joints. In thecase of the robot, the actuators provide the movement of the robot, suchas reaching, grasping, walking, and so on. The sensors in the case ofthe robot sense position and balance of the robot among other things.

A sensor may be gyroscopic such as sensor 209. Feedback data from therobot to the spherical mechanism may affect the actuators in robotinterface 102, providing sensory feed back to the operator allowing theoperator to make position adjustments that may be deemed appropriate inlight of the data. For example, robot 202 may bend at the waist and maytherefore diverge from a normal vertical alignment. During a task, therobot may lean too far, raising a risk that it might topple over.Feedback from actuator and sensor data may give sensory pressure to thewaist actuator or actuators in interface 102 urging the interface todiverge from a vertical axis. A human operator feeling this pressure andre-orientation may initiate a positional adjustment opposite of thepressure to help lower the lean angle of the remote robot.

In an alternative implementation, in place of robot 202 there may be anumber (up to network limit) of remote machines that may receiveinstructions from sphere controller 100. These bots or peripheraldevices may each be assigned to certain tasks and each may respond todifferent human initiated gestures or movements that are converted intothe appropriate machine instruction for each bot. In this example, robot202 emulates the movements of the human operating sphere mechanism 100and may perform tasks such as loading laundry, opening or closing doors,sweeping, or other tasks that it may be adapted to perform. In oneimplementation, tools may be provided to robot 202 for performingcertain tasks wherein those tools may be attached to robot 202 such asat hands 214.

Network 200 may be a wireless network such as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi),Bluetooth™, or another network type having a suitable communicationsrange for remote control of a machine externally located from the spheremechanism. In one implementation, each module may communicate to theothers through a wired network or cables in place of wirelesscommunication without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. In this example, a router or command hub 201 is provided tobroker and to assist in the communications between sphere mechanism 100and robot 202. In this example, command hub 201 is a wirelessly enabledcomputing device hosting a SW application 210, and is coupled to a datarepository 226 which may store executable code as well as data. In oneimplementation SW 210 may replace SW 110 in column 109 of spheremechanism 100. In another implementation SW 210 is adjunct or an appthat may assist SW 110 by refining commands and making instructions moreaccurate for a controlled remote machine such as robot 202. It may benoted that command hub 201 serves as a routing point for data.

The introduction of a router or command hub may be necessary for asystem where the remote machine is physically further away from thecontrol sphere and perhaps not at the same premises or within a samevicinity. In one implementation, the remote machine may not be directlyviewed by the human operator at sphere mechanism 100 without the aid ofa remote camera system. A remote camera system may include one or morecameras 211, in this case, an eye or eyes mounted on a head piece 212 ofrobot 202. One or more than one remote displays may be provided atsphere mechanism 100 such as somewhere on the spherical structure oninterface 102, on a stand near the structure, or an accessory like aheadset or viewing system may be worn by the user operating the spheremechanism. This display system provides the human operator with usableon-site visual information in the environment of the controlled machineor robot.

Robot 202 may, through its sensors and actuators, provide feedback datathat affects the actuators of wearable interface 102 in sphericalmechanism 102. This may result in actual movement of parts of theinterface that correspond to parts of the robot. This feedback may bepassive providing only a sense of movement to the human operator.Likewise, the human operator wearing interface 102 may, through directedand concerted movement of various body parts, provide reliable machineinstruction in order to influence the behavior of the robot.

As robot 202 performs tasks, data relative to the degree of roboticbalance and position of robotic limbs may be transferred from robot 202back to sphere mechanism 100 as feedback data. A human operatorrestrained in interface 102 may make a positional adjustment oradjustments in the sphere based on the sensory perception the operatorhas experienced resulting from the effect of the feedback data onparticular actuators in the interface apparatus.

Robot 202 may receive further machine instruction relative to theadjustments made by the human operator above, thereby affecting theco-actuators in the robot to further emulate the balance and position ofinterface 102. The distance that a remote machine such as robot 202 maybe from sphere mechanism 100 may be as close as in a same room, or asfar as electronic communication might allow. Router or command hub 201may help boost signals to enhance range of wireless communication. Inone implementation wireless data may be tunneled through a data networkto a router or command hub that has wireless communication with theremote machine. However, network delay in transmission and feedbacktimes may play a large role in how far away from the sphere mechanism amachine may be without compromising accurate function or taskperformance of the machine.

In one implementation, command hub 201 aided by SW 210 may record orregister all motion performed by the remote robot and all motionaffecting sphere 100. In one implementation sphere mechanism 100 maytrack the movements and performance of robot 202 using the feedback datafrom robot 202, which affects the actuators of the sphere mechanism androbotic interface. The sensors associated with the actuators sense themotion data and may register that data locally or at a command hubexecuting SW.

In one embodiment, command hub 201 may be a network-connected serverexecuting software with a variety of functionality such as transformingraw sensor data into useable machine readable commands. In response,data from the remote robot may be transformed into useable machinereadable commands for the sphere mechanism.

In one implementation command hub 201 aided by SW 210 may completelycontrol remote robot 202 and simply provide the feedback data of thetask performance of the robot to the human operator of the spheremechanism as a service. In this example command hub 201 may function asa go-between or broker of communications between the modules.

In this example the sphere mechanism may communicate commands to hub 201aided by SW 210, whereby the command hub may refine (by data processing)and forward those commands to robot 202. Robot 202 may provide sensoryfeedback data back to command hub 201 for refining and forwarding tosphere mechanism 100. Although not illustrated herein, robot 202 mayinclude a processor for processing data from actuator sensors (feedback)before communicating the data with the aid of a wireless communicationsmodule to command hub 201. In one implementation, sphere mechanism 100and robot 202 communicate directly with each other without the aid ofhub or router 201. Such direct communication might be reserved forsituations where robot 202 is physically close to sphere mechanism 100,and perhaps visible to the human operator working from the sphere.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram depicting an example of interaction betweensphere mechanism 100 of FIG. 1, robot 202 of FIG. 2, brokered throughcommand hub or router 201. To begin, a human operator may climb into orotherwise confine himself or herself to the robotic interface (102) insphere 100 and using the interface provide user input in the form ofmotion or a gesture, etc. The actuator sensors report the sensedmovement or gestures resulting in the sphere mechanism sending the datato command hub 201. It is noted herein that the sensor data may becollected at the sphere and processed at the sphere, for example toconvert the raw data form from the sensors to one or more machinereadable instructions or commands. In one implementation, SW at commandhub 201 may convert sensor data into instruction or commands for therobot without departing from the spirit or scope of the presentinvention.

Command hub 201 may issue or forward one or more commands to remoterobot 202. The one or more commands sent by the command hub may bereceived at the robot and executed by the robot. Commands or machineinstructions may involve movement and positioning of elements of orportions of the robot such as operation of the limbs of robot 202 inperformance of an overall task. Robot 202 may send feedback datadestined for sphere mechanism 100 back to command hub 201. Feedback datamay include data collected by sensors/actuators relative to position,range of a motion, force of a motion, direction of a motion, etc.Feedback data may be processed at command hub 201 with the aid of SW(210) to convert the raw data into machine instruction that spheremechanism 100 may apply.

The feedback data may be routed to the co-actuators and sensors in therobotic interface (102) causing a physical difference in operativeposition and resistance of the relative co-actuators. This may enable ahuman operator to feel what the robot may well feel if it were human orother animal, wherein the human operator may then determine to makeadjustments or otherwise fine tune such as human posture on the sphere,alignment with vertical axis 104, and the force used by the human totranslate the motion into streamed data to make adjustments ifnecessary. The sequence continues at next input made by the humanoperator at sphere mechanism 100.

It is noted that the bidirectional communication is ongoing while robot202 is being controlled by sphere 100. The sequence may loop through theinteraction pattern numerous times before a task being performed may bedetermined to be complete. It is also noted herein that robot 202 mayrecord still images and video through outward facing camera or cameras.In such an implementation, feedback data may include video or stillimage data that may be presented to the human operator of spheremechanism 100.

In one situation the remote robot performing a task may for some reasontilt or go off balance with respect to vertical axis as depicted in FIG.2. Off balance may be determined by a designated percentage of diversionof the vertical center of the robot from a theoretical vertical axis.When this occurs the robot sensors provide feedback data of theimbalance to the command hub, which then may generate commands to thesphere mechanism that cause the longitudinal and lateral rings tore-create the off balance state of the robot for the human operator.

Rings 106 and or 108 may be instructed to rotate at least incrementallyto reproduce the effect caused by the lack of balance of the remoterobot. Sensing the imbalance, the human operator may adjust the positionof the torso and limbs of the robotic interface toward an uprightposition and against the off balance positon. The new motion initiatedby the human operator is in turn realized into commands and sent to therobot, helping the robot to regain balance and proper alignment tovertical. In one implementation feedback requiring human responsepredominantly originates from robot 202 and is conveyed to apparatus100. Any human adjustments made at the sphere mechanism may be conveyedback to the robot. In this manner, raw computerized instructions fromcommand hub 201 may be supplemented by human judgment.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart 400 depicting steps for controlling a machine viaa human-operated sphere mechanism according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. At step 401 a human operator (User) may enter thesphere mechanism (analogous to mechanism 100 of FIG. 1) and constrainhimself or herself to the robotic interface analogous to interface 102of FIG. 1. The human operator may place feet into foot seats orreceptacles and insert hands into hand seats or receptacles analogous tohands components 114 of FIG. 1. In this flow chart, it is assumed thatthe human operator or human has complete control over the remotemachine.

At step 402 the human operator may boot the system and establish networkconnection with the command hub analogous to hub 201 of FIG. 2 and withthe robot. In one aspect, at step 403, the human operator may wake upthe remote robot for performing a task. The robot may be kept in a sleepstate until it is contacted by a wake-up signal incoming from thecommand hub.

Once the human operator and the robot are ready to perform, the humanoperator may determine whether or not to initiate a task to be performedby the robot at step 404. If the human operator determines to initiate atask for the robot to perform at step 404, the process may move to step405 where the human operator may begin exerting motion within the spheremechanism such as limb gestures, directional rotation, walking motions,reaching motions, grasping motions, and so on. The motion emulatedwithin the sphere mechanism may be communicated to the remote robot atstep 406 by the command hub or in one implementation directly from thesphere mechanism.

A step 407, the robot may receive instruction and perform one or moretasks as machine readable commands come into the robot communicationsinterface. In this aspect feedback from the robot as it is performing atask or tasks may be returned to the command hub and then to the spheremechanism or directly to the sphere mechanism bypassing the command hubat step 408. This feedback data may be thought of as documenting therobot task performance session as recorded and reported by the robotactuator sensors. The human operator may feel the effects of thefeedback instruction through movements by the sphere and roboticinterface that were not initiated by the user but that were sent backfrom the robot. So in this sense the robotic human interface emulatesthe robot as the robot is task performing.

At step 409 the human operator may make a decision whether to make someadjustment in wake of the sensed physical effects on the spheremechanism and robotic interface of the data received from the remotemachine (robot). If the human operator determines not to make anyadjustments, such as change in position, etc. at step 409, the processmay resolve to step 404 where the human operator may determine whetherto initiate a next task. If it is determined that the human operatorwill not initiate a next task, the process may move to step 415 wherethe human operator may determine whether to initiate maintenanceoperations like a charging sequence, a self-diagnostic test, etc. If thehuman operator determines not to initiate maintenance task at step 415then the process may end for that session at step 416.

If at step 404, a human operator determines not to initiate a task, thenthe process may move to step 415 where the human operator may determinewhether to initiate a maintenance task. If at step 415 the humanoperator determines not to initiate a maintenance task, the process mayend at step 416 for that session. If the human operator determines toinitiate a maintenance task at step 415, the process may resolve to step405 where the human operator may emulate a gesture or motion designatedto start a self-maintenance task like charging or some other passiveoperation that really does not require much motion from the robot toperform. Such tasks may be initiated by any type of gesture that thehuman operator may make while operating the sphere mechanism that may beconverted into a command for the robot.

At step 406, the emulation or gesture to start the passive task iscommunicated to the robot either directly or through the command hub. Atstep 407 the robot receives the instruction and performs the task. Atstep 408, the robot may return data to the sphere mechanism through thecommand hub or directly. However, since the task does not involvemotion, the feedback data may simply be a confirmation signal ofcompletion of the task, which may be realized by the human operatorthrough a physical sensation in the actuators that were involved inmaking the original gesture to start the passive task such as vibrationor slight pressure toward movement sufficient to be felt by theoperator. In this case, there may be no adjustments at step 409 so theprocess may loop back to step 404 for initiating a task for the robot toperform.

In one implementation the command hub or the device/processor (109) onthe sphere mechanism may track movements of the robot and spheremechanism motions and may learn from end result (success or failure)data to refine movement of the actuators relative to resistance,pressure, direction, etc. for a next attempt at performing the task. Asa human operator continues work within the sphere mechanism, he or shebecomes more attuned to the nuances of the motions required to achievesuccess in task performance of the robot thereby improving accuracy andshortening the time required to complete the task.

Also in one implementation, the command hub SW may function to fine tuneresults of motion from the operator of the sphere mechanism beforeinstructing the robot, including making adjustments to improve precisionand stability of the robot when it is operative in task performance. Inthis manner any crude movements made by the robot as a result ofinaccurate motion or gesture from the human operator may be at leastpartially avoided. SW at the command hub or loaded onto the spheremechanism includes all of the required knowledge of the robot includingfunctions and capabilities thereof and the sphere mechanism and roboticinterface and the functions and capabilities thereof. For example, if ahuman operator makes a motion with too much force, the SW may removesome factor of that force in translation of the data into a command forthe robot. There are many possibilities.

An important function of the system is to interface a human operatorwith a robot in a way that the human operator may perform as thoughhe/she is the robot. The two-way communication with actuators at boththe interface 102 and at the robot provide the human operator, throughseveral of the operator's five senses, with intimate and instant feelingand understanding of the state and the activity of the robot, whichallows the human operator to behave as the robot, which robot functionsby the commends flow from the sphere to the robot.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that the roboticcontrol system of the present invention may be provided using some orall of the mentioned features and components without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. It will also be apparent tothe skilled artisan that the embodiments described above are specificexamples of a single broader invention that may have greater scope thanany of the singular descriptions taught. There may be many alterationsmade in the descriptions without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

It will be apparent to the skilled person that the arrangement ofelements and functionality for the invention is described in differentembodiments in which each is exemplary of an implementation of theinvention. These exemplary descriptions do not preclude otherimplementations and use cases not described in detail. The elements andfunctions may vary, as there are a variety of ways the hardware may beimplemented and in which the software may be provided within the scopeof the invention. The invention is limited only by the breadth of theclaims below.

1. A robot control system, comprising: a monitoring mechanism wearableon a portion of human anatomy, proximal a specific human joint, themonitoring mechanism comprising sensors monitoring relative positions ofportions of the human anatomy to either side of the specific joint;circuitry associated with the mechanism, transmitting data concerningthe relative positions to a computerized robot control platform; and arobot mechanism having a robotic joint simulating the specific humanjoint, and further comprising remotely-controllable actuatorsmanipulating robot elements to either side of the robotic joint; whereinthe computerized robot control platform controls theremotely-controllable actuators according to the data concerning therelative positions, causing the robot mechanism to emulate the movementof the specific human joint in near real time.
 2. The robot controlsystem of claim 1 further comprising sensors monitoring force betweenthe joint and the elements to either side of the joint.
 3. The robotcontrol system of claim 1 further comprising an image capturing deviceproximate the robot mechanism, and a viewing apparatus positioned nearthe monitoring mechanism, whereby visual information in the environmentof the robot mechanism is projected on a display of the viewing system.4. The robotic control station of claim 3 wherein the display is awearable display.
 5. The robotic control system of claim 1 wherein thecircuitry transmitting data comprises wireless transmission circuitry.6. The robotic control station of claim 1 further comprising sensorsmonitoring relative positions of portions of the human arm, hand, andfingers, to either side of the elbow joint, the wrist and the joints ofthe thumb and of each of the four fingers, further comprising robotelements emulating the human joints and the portions of the human arm,hand, and fingers, and further comprising remotely-controllableactuators manipulating the robot elements according to the dataconcerning the relative positions, causing the robot mechanism toemulate the movement of the human arm and hand in near real time.
 7. Therobot control system of claim 6 further comprising sensors monitoringforce between the joints and the portions to either side of the joints.8. The robot control system of claim 6 further comprising an imagecapturing device proximate the robot mechanism, and a viewing apparatuspositioned near the monitoring mechanism, whereby visual information inthe environment of the robot mechanism is projected on a display of theviewing system.
 9. The robotic control station of claim 8 wherein thedisplay is a wearable display.
 10. The robotic control system of claim 6wherein the circuitry transmitting data comprises wireless transmissioncircuitry.